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Non-verbal adjectives
Besides verbal adjectives there are the non-verbal adjectives. In
the Japanese language, nouns can be used as adjectives. We've already
seen this in the previous lessons. When a noun is used to describe
another noun, they are connected by the particle の (no).
The "na" nominal
Another type of non-verbal adjective is the "na" nominal.
These adjectives are called "na" nominals because they
are followed by the particle な (na) when they describe a noun.
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上手な人 (Jouzu na hito) a handy person / a skilled person
きれいな物 (Kirei na mono) a beautiful object / a good-looking object |
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When a "na" nominal describes a verb the nominal is followed
by the particle に (ni).
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上手になった。 (Jouzu ni natta.) He's become good at it.
きれいに書いて。 (Kirei ni kaite.) Please write it neatly. |
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The verbs だ (da), である (de aru), and です (desu) and all their conjugations
follow "na" nominals directly, without a particle.
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上手である。 (Jouzu de aru.) He's good.
きれいじゃなかったです。 (Kirei ja nakatta desu.) It didn't look nice. |
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Some verbal adjectives can also be used as "na" nominals.
These "na" nominals are created by replacing the final
い (i) with な (na) and have the exact same meaning as the original
verbal adjectives.
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大きい家 (Ookii ie) a large house
小さい猫 (Chiisai neko) a small cat |
大きな家 (Ooki na ie) a large house
小さな猫 (Chiisa na neko) a small cat |
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Note that most verbal adjectives cannot be made into "na"
nominals.
A は B が C だ。 (A wa B ga C da.)
This construction, similar to the "A" は "B"
だ construction from lesson 5, is used to describe a feature of "A".
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日本は物価が高い。 |
Talking about Japan, the prices are high. / |
| (Nihon wa bukka ga takai.) |
In Japan the prices are high. |
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| 外人は鼻が高い。 |
Talking about foreigners, their noses are large. / |
| (Gaijin wa hana ga takai.) |
Foreigners have large noses.* |
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If you are having trouble translating these constructions you can
try to replace は (wa) with の (no).
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日本の物価が高い。 |
Japanese prices are high. |
| (Nihon no bukka ga takai.) |
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| 外人の鼻が高い。 |
Foreigners have high noses.* |
| (Gaijin no hana ga takai.) |
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Variations may have は (wa) and が (ga) interchanged.
* I've often heard from people that
they were offended by this remark. To the Japanese however, large
noses are a beauty ideal, so no malice is intended, it is considered
a compliment. |
